biodiversity
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Almost 200 nations promise to protect 30 percent of the planet's land and oceans
Nearly 200 countries have agreed to protect 30 percent of Earth's lands and oceans by 2030.
Microsoft hopes its ‘Planetary Computer’ will preserve biodiversity
Microsoft's "Planetary Computer" initiative will help researchers and other companies make more informed decisions around the environment and biodiversity.
Google AI tool helps conservationists (and the public) track wildlife
Google is quickly putting its wildlife-spotting AI to good use. The internet giant has launched a Wildlife Insights tool that helps conservationists track wildlife by not only parsing their photos, but sharing them in a searchable public website. The AI automatically tosses out photos that are highly unlikely to include animals and tries to label the animals it does spot, dramatically speeding up a laborious task. That, in turn, helps researchers track animal populations as they're affected by climate change and direct human intrusion.
Researchers are using drones to study the Amazon rainforest's health
Researchers from Harvard University are using drones to better understand the Amazon rainforest. With drone-based sensors, the researchers hope to determine the unique "fingerprint" of different rainforest ecosystems. That could help them monitor the health of the forest and understand how it's responding to climate change, deforestation and fire.
UN study says humans are damaging nature at 'unprecedented' rate
You probably weren't expecting a feel-good nature report from the UN after its alarming findings on climate change, and you won't get one. The organization's Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) has published a summary of an upcoming study that concludes nature is declining at a pace "unprecedented in human history," and that there are "grave impacts" likely for people around the world. While the finer points of the report aren't available, it makes certain grim facts clear.
Fujitsu wants to fix Japan's deer problem with software
Fujitsu is teaming up with a Japanese forest research institute to learn how animal populations grow. The pair will look into Sika deer, a creature that's causing plenty of environmental damage due to overgrazing. Traditionally, these sorts of studies require a manual survey and plenty of theoretical calculations, but Fujitsu is hoping to build software that is significantly more accurate. The eventual plan is that this project can help conservationists prepare effective defenses to ensure the deer don't cause permanent harm. Given that the country hunted the deer's only natural predator to extinction a century ago, it's probably the least that they could do.
